9/15/2019 0 Comments First bi-weekly postThe first two weeks of school have finished and I am more aware of how very different it is from the American college educational system. Your grades are very heavily weighted on exams and usually make up about 85% of your final grade. My school takes attendance very seriously and for some classes, being absent 3 times means you have failed the class for the semester. Moving onto more positive things... my university offers a wide variety of authentic Korean food that always comes with some type of side dish and soup ^^, all usually under 7,000 won ($7.00). Other than school related things, I have been a tourist and have been eating a lot! My friends and I went to the famous Noryangin fish market, where you can eat seafood for cheap compared to the prices you would pay in Hawaii. It was fascinating to see all the different types of seafood alive. You can ask the salesperson how much and which type of seafood you would like and they take you upstairs to a restaurant where they prepare it for you. I have had Sul-bing about 5 times now, which is a desert place, very well known for their shave ice. I also spent a relaxing night biking along the Han river. Although I have just started school, I actually had a 4 day break because it was Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving). So my friends and I decided to make the most of our break and go to Incheon for 2 nights. We booked a hotel on Wolmido island, which was on the boardwalk right next to the amusement park. We went to several parks, Chinatown (where black bean noodles were invented), and lit fireworks at night :D! Today, we took a day trip to Suwon, which is known for the Hwaseong fortress, where we went on a hot air balloon ride and ate chicken on the fried chicken street. I want to end this blog post by saying that I was a little worried about starting my life in Korea even though I am Korean and am almost perfectly fluent. There have been some cases where people would not understand what I'm saying because I might have a slight accent and there are many different ways of doing even everyday things here compared to the U.S. Also, there are not many students studying abroad that are of full Korean ethnicity. However, I would especially encourage those of you that are in a similar situation as I am to study here, because I now feel more embraced with my culture and am experiencing what my life would have been like if I have lived in my home country all this time. Even though you feel like you might already know what that may be like or you feel a little discouraged, you will regret it if this is what might be holding you back from taking this journey.
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Pre-departureIn order to prepare for my upcoming semester in Seoul, I had gone to the embassy a month early from my departure date for my student visa, which was August 4. However, I could not obtain one even though I have been an American citizen my whole life because my father got his citizenship after I was born. I had to go through a very long and difficult process to acquire a Korean I.D. Please contact me if you have any questions about this process (especially if your ethnicity is Korean), as my other Korean American peers went through the same situation. My email is [email protected]. Other than preparing for documents to enter the country, I prioritized packing, making sure I had all my necessities packed a few days before my departure date. I went to the doctor to get refills for the medication I will be needing for the months ahead. I also called my bank to let them know I will be living in Korean until the end of December so I can freely use my cards without any foreign transaction fees. My number one tip would be to prepare for these types of things for the new semester as soon as the current semester ends! |